Zhao Ji (1082-1135) Yujing once recalled the old prosperity and the home of thousands of emperors. In the Jade Hall of Qiong Shu, there are noisy strings and pipes in the morning and sheng and lutes in the evening. The people of Huacheng are now desolate, and spring dreams are lingering in Husha. Where is the home mountain? Listen to the Qiang pipe and blow the plum blossoms!
——This is a poem written by Song Huizong (Zhao Ji) about the country’s subjugation and dust. Zhao Ji, the eleventh son of Song Shenzong Zhao Xu. His brother Song Zhezong had no heirs, and he succeeded to the throne. After Zhao Ji became emperor, he appointed Cai Jing and others to preside over state affairs, carried out large-scale construction projects, imposed exorbitant taxes and expropriated money, and the people were in dire straits. During his twenty-five years in office, the country's power gradually declined. In the seventh year of Xuanhe, the Jin soldiers went south, and Zhao Ji passed the throne to Zhao Huan, claiming to be the Supreme Emperor. In the second year of Jingkang, Zhao Ji was captured by the Jin soldiers and later died in Wuguocheng (now Yilan, Heilongjiang Province).
Zhao Ji was incompetent in governing the country, but he was good at the art of calligraphy and painting. Like Li Yu of the Southern Tang Dynasty, this subjugated emperor was accomplished in art. He contributed to the construction of the Song Dynasty Painting Academy and the development of courtyard painting, and promoted and created the art of calligraphy and painting. And he has made outstanding contributions to the organization and preservation of ancient art. He can be called an emperor who "does not love the country but loves the pictures". During his reign, he extensively collected antiquities, calligraphy and paintings, recruited painters, and expanded the Hanlin Painting Academy. He once directed civil servants to compile the "Xuanhe Calligraphy Book", "Xuanhe Painting Book" and "Xuanhe Bogu Tu". He focused on sketching in painting, and the painting scrolls such as "Four Birds" that are still in the world use simple brushwork and no fancy painting, but are natural and vivid.
His calligraphy was learned from Xue Ji and Huang Tingjian in his early years, and he also participated in Chu Suiliang's calligraphy. He came out with a thin, elegant and smooth calligraphy, and he integrated it into two Xue's (Xue Ji, Xue Yao) to form his own style, which is called "Slim Gold Style". It is characterized by being thin and straight, with hooks for horizontal strokes and dots for vertical strokes, like daggers and cutters, and slender vertical hooks; some couplets are like gossamers running in the air, which is close to running script. His writing style is derived from Chu and Xue's, and his writing style is thinner and more vigorous; his overall style is based on Huang Tingjian's large-character regular script, which is stretched and strong. Fa Huaisu, a master of cursive script with thousands of characters, has a flying pen and a majestic momentum, and he completes the work in one go.
